Back from a long vacation and my mach pagla Bangali mon (fish loving Bengali mind) started craving for some fish, some rice and some spices. As I can’t think of staying away from my kitchen and from fish for so long, a 10 days long vacation without fish is obviously little too much for me 😛 So, today morning I rushed to the local market and bought some fresh Rohu fish. By afternoon, I again wore my apron and entered kitchen like a Knight in Shinning Armour 😀 and then what – I prepared the dish where I could use exactly the three things I was craving for – fish, rice and spices. I prepared the quintessential Bengali mishmash with fish head, rice and spices and we the Bengalis call it “Muri Ghonto”.
The word muri came from Muro, which means Head and Ghonto means a Mishmash Curry. This dish also reminds me of a North Indian friend of mine who asked me once – Tum log machli ka seer bhi khate ho? (you guys eat the fish head also?) and I proudly replied – Seer se leke punch, kuch bhi nehi chorte hum (from head to tail, we don’t spare a single part of it). Bengalis love their fish and eat every part of it – from head to tail and Muri Ghonto is an age old preparation and a hot favourite of every Bengali non-vegetarian kitchen. Usually, it is cooked with the aromatic Gobindobhog rice, but if that is not available you can replace it with Basmati rice as well.
Here’s how I cook Muri Ghonto at my kitchen. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sized fish head
- 3/4 cup gobindobhog rice (or basmati rice)
- 1 big sized potato, diced
- 1 big sized onion, finely chopped
- 5-6 green chillies, slit for middle
- 1 tea-spoon ginger paste
- 1 tea-spoon garlic paste
- 2 cinnamon sticks (dalchini)
- 5-6 green cardamom (elaichi)
- 5-6 cloves (laung)
- 2 star anise (chakra phool)
- 2 bay leaves (tej patta)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1/2 tea-spoon whole cumin seeds (gota jeera/sabud jeera)
- 2 tea-spoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 tea-spoon cumin powder (jeera)
- 1 tea-spoon coriander powder (dhaniya)
- 1/2 tea-spoon red chilli powder (or as per your tolerance)
- 1 tea-spoon sugar
- salt (according to taste)
- 1/2 tea-spoon ghee
- 4-5 table-spoon mustard oil
Method:
- Heat a pan and dry roast cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves and star anise. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
- Rub the fish head with 1/2 tea-spoon turmeric powder and some salt. Fry the head properly and keep aside.
- Rub the potato pieces with 1/2 tea-spoon turmeric powder and some salt. Shallow fry the pieces and keep aside.
- Heat ghee in a pan and shallow fry the rice adding 2 pinches of turmeric powder for 1 minute. Remove the rice from the pan and keep aside.
- Heat 3-4 table-spoon oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, roasted spices, dried red chillies and bay leaves. Allow the spices to splutter.
- Now, add the chopped onion and green chillies. Sautè until the onion turns translucent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt and stir for a few seconds on low flame.
- Now, add the fish head and mix very well with the spices. Cook the head with the spices by stirring constantly until it gets crushed properly.
- Add the rice and potato and give a quick mix.
- Now, add 2 cups of warm water, mix well and cover the lid.
- Cook it on low to medium flame for 10 minutes or until the rice and potato get cooked well. Check the salt, if it is less, you can add now.
- After 10 minutes, check if it is well cooked. If not, you can add 1 cup warm water more and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Once the rice is well cooked and the water gets absorbed, add sugar and mix well.
- Turn off the flame, cover the lid and let it set for 10 minutes. Your Muri Ghonto is ready to be served now.
Serve it with hot steamed rice to enjoy a complete authentic Bong meal. While eating, you can add little ghee if you want – this will enhance the taste further, but it is completely optional.
Do try this dish at home and don’t forget to drop me a comment telling how you like it. Happy eating!